A veil of mystery hangs over the ruins left by the powerful explosion yesterday evening in a three-story house in Engomi, sending an 18-year-old student to the hospital with serious burns.
Despite the investigations of four services at the wreckage, more than 24 hours later, no clear conclusions have been drawn about the causes that caused the explosion, or about how it occurred.
Indicative of the fact that nothing has been ruled out, is that the head of the police’s pyrotechnic team remained at the scene throughout yesterday, even though the possibility of criminal action was initially ruled out.
The Fire Service leans towards the version that the explosion is due to a gas leak, also because of testimonies that in recent days there was a gas smell.
However, due to the extensive damage caused, nothing else has been found to support this position.
Facing the deadlock of not finding the cause of the explosion, yesterday afternoon three experts from a gas import and distribution company were called to the scene, who inspected the area, went up to the roof where there seemed to be pipes connected to some appliances, to see if there was a gas leak.
However, so far there is no clear conclusion about what caused the explosion, resulting in all information reaching the Authorities about the use of gas by the two studios rented to students and an apartment to a four-member family, being investigated.
The situation as to drawing safe conclusions became difficult when the 18-year-old student from Greece, who is hospitalized in the Burns Intensive Care Unit of Nicosia General Hospital, verbally informed the police that there was no gas-operated device in the room she was staying.
In the other studio that was demolished, a young man from South Africa, who was in shock, resided and was preemptively transferred to the hospital. The four-member family was absent and returned shortly after the explosion.
The Fire Service and experts from the Department of Electromechanical Services, the Labor Inspection Department, the municipal authorities, and the police focus their attention on the possibility that there was a gas leak elsewhere and it was channeled into the student’s studio.
This is why yesterday morning an operation was set up to remove the debris and materials from the wall that was completely destroyed, in order to reveal the gas pipelines and to determine – if possible – where there was a loss.
As clarified to Phileleftheros by the Fire Service spokesperson Andreas Kettis, there was no gas cylinder explosion but an explosion from gas ignition due to a leak.
In earlier statements, Mr. Kettis emphasized that “we will try to investigate each parameter. It seems that in this particular case, the evidence and our observations so far lead us to a gas leak. We are now investigating under what conditions the gas leak occurred.”
“We are talking about a tremendous disaster, we are talking about a lot of material with debris and concrete inside the specific studios, so the way to investigate today is to proceed and remove them to see if there was something we did not locate last night. To see if there was any heating source from gas or any appliance that was operating with gas. This is the first possibility.”
Mr. Kettis reiterated that the use of gas is not dangerous. It is very beneficial and safe when and if used correctly, when the correct precautions are taken, and the correct installations exist. People have nothing to fear, he concluded.
Meanwhile, the Police are investigating two directions. As stated by the Police spokesperson Christos Andreou, the causes of the explosion are being examined and at the same time, whether the properties there had the necessary licenses.
A team of investigators appointed by the Chief of Police has begun taking statements and has also requested the property folder from the Town Planning Department.
Statements are being taken from tenants in the same property, from neighbors, while the owner of the property will also be called to give a statement.
The young student has burns on 40% of her body, with her condition being stable and out of danger. Yesterday, her father arrived in Cyprus to be by her side.
At the same time, the Engomi Municipality is conducting investigations into whether the building where the explosion occurred met the specifications and had all the planning permissions.
According to what Engomi Mayor Zacharias Kyriakou mentioned to Phileleftheros, the building received initial licensing in 1976 and received the final modification permit in 1988 for the construction of a three-story building, with two shops on the ground floor and a parking area.
“What we are investigating is whether modifications were made, what they are, and whether the changes made to the building had planning permission,” Mr. Kyriakou emphasized.
He also noted that we were lucky to escape the worst as the explosion occurred in a densely populated area at rush hour.
The building, according to the Engomi Mayor, borders a sidewalk where many citizens walk.
“We were very lucky that at that moment no one was passing right outside the building.”
Finally, he noted that the Municipality is waiting for information from the competent services that are conducting investigations on the causes of the explosion.
